World Premiere
In a meaty follow-up to her memorable first feature Easy Land (VIFF 2019), Serbian-Canadian director Sanja Živković returns with a deeply moving family drama about a grandfather fighting for the custody of his newborn granddaughter, who is rejected by her young mother after she learns that the child is afflicted with a rare genetic disorder known as Cat’s Cry syndrome.
Based on true events that took place in the Serbian town of Karagujevac, Živković handles the subject with utmost care and respect, leaning on her sharp storytelling instincts and infusing the story with a nuanced reading of the cultural framework. She approaches the individual arcs with compassion and without judgment, making sure that each character is given emotional space and context, amplifying the film’s resonance and complexity. This is further strengthened by all-around compelling performances, featuring a cast of regional heavyweights like Jasmin Geljo and Marija Škaričić.
Oct 1 & 3: Q&A with director Sanja Živković; producer Vladimir Paskaljevic; and actor Jasmin Geljo
Presented by
Media Partner
Jasmin Geljo, Andrijana Đorđević, Sanja Mikitišin, Marija Škaričić, Denis Murić, Sergej Trifunović
Canada/Serbia/Croatia
2024
In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles
Domestic violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Nevena Savić, Jelica Rosandić
Producer
Vladimir Paskaljević, Petar Paskaljević, Munire Armstrong, Irena Skorić
Screenwriter
Goran Paskaljević, Djordje Sibinović
Cinematography
Milica Drakulić
Editor
Radojka Vrabac
Production Design
Nevena Marković
Original Music
Dalibor Grubačević
Sanja Živković
Sanja Živković is a Serbian-Canadian filmmaker. Her first feature Easy Land premiered at TIFF 2019, screened at VIFF, FNC Montreal, Palm Springs, Goteborg, and Belgrade’s FEST. Select short films include Cleo (TIFF 2016), and Marijina Epizoda (Montreal World FF 2014), awarded in Belgrade and Sarajevo. She received a BFA from Simon Fraser University’s Film Program, her MFA in Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade, and completed the Canadian Film Centre Director’s Lab.
Filmography: Easy Land (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
The Plague
At a water polo camp, Ben is plunged into the deep end of toxic peer pressure. Terrified of incurring his campmates’ wrath, he joins them in tormenting a kid whose skin rash has been branded “the plague”. But then he experiences a breakout of his own...
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
